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HAL Amsterdam Review – 7/27-8/10/12

karatemom2

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karatemom2 "Live from...." Rare

karatemom2

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We just returned from our first HAL cruise on the Amsterdam. We are veteran cruisers and have cruised with Carnival, Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, but mostly with Princess which is our favorite line. We were attracted to HAL’s wonderful Alaska Explorer 14 day itinerary as it offered the opportunity to visit some really wonderful Alaska ports that we had not been to before. We got off to a bit of a rocky start with HAL when the cruise we originally booked for 7/13 was chartered and we were forced to change dates, but in the end we felt that the move over offer and OBC were fair and reasonable. So we were very excited to try a new cruise line and a great Alaska itinerary.

 

Following is our review of our HAL experience.

 

Embarkation: Very easy and smoothly handled at Pier 91 in Seattle. We stayed at The Maxwell Hotel near the Space Needle the night before which was a wonderful experience. Just a gem of a hotel with a perfect location, lovely rooms and superb service. We arranged a van to take our group of six to the port at 10:30 a.m. and after just a brief wait we were onboard before noon and enjoying lunch in the dining room. I was appreciative that HAL afforded us Mariner’s status for our previous Carnival and Princess cruises. Our luggage was delivered promptly and by sail away we were all unpacked and ready for our 14 day Alaska adventure.

 

Stateroom: We were in room 2686 with our family of four. The room was spacious enough with plenty of storage, but I disliked the configuration with the closets right across from the bathroom. It is such a narrow hallway entrance and trying to navigate getting into the closets while someone is going in and out of the bathroom created a bit of a traffic jam in the mornings. The room location near the aft exit onto a small deck area that had stair leading up to the Promenade deck was very convenient to get outside and see the scenery. Our room steward wasn’t particularly friendly but did an adequate job of keeping our room clean. We had difficulties with the remote control for the TV from day one which we tried to discuss with him in the hopes of having it replaced, but to no avail. But overall with some minor oversights, he did a fine job and we really didn’t have any big complaints. The beds were very comfortable for everyone except my daughter. She slept on the bed that converted from the couch and it took a few days to figure out a way to make it work for her. Ultimately we ended up leaving the couch cushion underneath her mattress for extra support and adding a few layers of blankets to make it more comfortable. My son slept in the drop down bunk and was fine.

 

Dining/Food: This was where our experience ranged from the good, the bad to the ugly. We were very excited to try a new line with a new menu and dining experience. We chose Anytime Dining for our group of 6 and never had any problem getting a table in the dining room. The gentleman at the desk every evening was exceptional and always did his best to make sure we were seated at a table by the window. Overall the food in the dining room was very good, with a few exceptions. We enjoyed variety of foods offered and the presentation was always nice. The desserts were somewhat of a disappointment. The variety and quality was not what we are used to on Princess. My sister did really love having the Baked Alaska options every night and I liked the daily fruit crisps. Where the experience really paled was with our dining room services. With the exception of a few nights when the service was excellent, we found the dining room service poor. The staff was friendly but the service was painfully slow most nights. On average our dinners lasted over two hours, sometimes nearly two and a half hours. We tried to arrive early at the dining room most evenings when it opened at 5:15 p.m. or shortly after and despite that we were almost never able to make the Trivia at 7 p.m. A few evenings when we arrived near 6 p.m. we were racing to make the 8 p.m. show and opted to skip dessert a couple of times just to get to the entertainment. Our beverage service was also slow with our drinks not being delivered some evenings until we had already completed our appetizers and were waiting for our entrees. And the staff seems very confused by the beverage cards (we found them confusing as well!) I really prefer the unlimited beverage packages we have had on Carnival and Princess. All of this was compounded by the little mistakes such as forgetting an appetizer and then serving it after the entrée, neglecting to bring the sauce for the soufflés, getting one basket of bread and one small container of butter for 6 people and having to make multiple requests for a bit more, pepper mills being empty and never replaced even after it was requested. Compared to our other cruises the dining services just seemed a bit sloppy and uneven. I’m a pretty tolerant person, but after multiple evenings of sitting for twenty minutes between our appetizers and entrees even my patience was running thin.

 

And the few times we ate at the Lido we found the set up confusing, crowded and chaotic. We gave up on getting drink service in the buffet and just went and got our own drinks at the bar. My favorite thing was the grill and the turkey burgers which were terrific! The main thing that disappointed about the Lido was the strange hours. I have never been on a cruise where there were times it was hard to find food! We were stunned to find that the buffet closed at 8 p.m. and didn’t open again until the late snack at 11 p.m. There were many nights when we would have liked a snack before bed or nights we skipped dessert and wanted to run up to the buffet after the show and it was closed. Room service was an option at least, but even that was a mixed bag. We loved being able to have a hot breakfast from room service, but our order was only delivered correctly on a couple of days. Most days there were items missing and on a couple of occasions entire meals were missing and we had to send the server back to retrieve the rest of our order. I’m really not one to complain even though it probably sounds like it. Truly I am easy to please. But given our experience on other lines I was really so surprised how lacking the overall food service experience seemed. Let me reiterate though that the food overall was very, very good so when we finally got it that part was enjoyable! We also really enjoyed afternoon tea (especially the Indonesian Tea) and the ice cream station at the buffet.

 

Entertainment/Activities: We went to most of the production shows and overall they were pretty good. The dancers in particular were excellent. The guest entertainers we saw were all really enjoyable and the Queens Lounge was a nice venue and we always found good seats. The piano bar was one of our favorite spots to spend time in the evenings after the show and Piano Man Roy was excellent and so much fun. We did find the daily activities a bit lacking, at least where our interests are concerned. It was a bit sedate for our taste which seemed to be the overall feel of the cruise in general. I was glad this was a port intensive cruise because the sea days were a little dull. The weather kept us indoors on most sea days so I did take the opportunity to catch up on my reading and did manage to read 3 books. But I missed the variety of trivia, games and group activities we are used to on Princess.

 

Kids Club: We didn’t really have high expectations for the Kid’s program going in and that was a good thing as the program for my daughter was disappointing. The activities for preteens onboard were very limited. The focus seemed to be on the younger kids and teens. Fortunately my daughter made a friend her age and they had fun together. There was very little for my son who is 18 and too old for the teen club. He attended one of the Generation Next activities but it was all people in their mid-twenties. I would say that HAL could definitely stand to improve their offerings for tweens and college age kids.

 

Casino: My husband enjoys the Casino and even though we had been warned going in there was likely not a Craps table onboard, that was a disappointment for him. He did however really enjoy playing blackjack and was very, very impressed with the Casino staff onboard. In fact he felt they were the friendliest and most welcoming staff he has ever played with on any of our cruises. He made certain to write a very complementary note about all of them at the end of our cruise.

 

I will cover the ports in my next installment!

Edited by karatemom2
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carri cruiser

carri cruiser

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We just returned from our first HAL cruise on the Amsterdam. We are veteran cruisers and have cruised with Carnival, Disney, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean, but mostly with Princess which is our favorite line. We were attracted to HAL’s wonderful Alaska Explorer 14 day itinerary as it offered the opportunity to visit some really wonderful Alaska ports that we had not been to before. We got off to a bit of a rocky start with HAL when the cruise we originally booked for 7/13 was chartered and we were forced to change dates, but in the end we felt that the move over offer and OBC were fair and reasonable. So we were very excited to try a new cruise line and a great Alaska itinerary.

 

Following is our review of our HAL experience.

 

Embarkation: Very easy and smoothly handled at Pier 91 in Seattle. We stayed at The Maxwell Hotel near the Space Needle the night before which was a wonderful experience. Just a gem of a hotel with a perfect location, lovely rooms and superb service. We arranged a van to take our group of six to the port at 10:30 a.m. and after just a brief wait we were onboard before noon and enjoying lunch in the dining room. I was appreciative that HAL afforded us Mariner’s status for our previous Carnival and Princess cruises. Our luggage was delivered promptly and by sail away we were all unpacked and ready for our 14 day Alaska adventure.

 

Stateroom: We were in room 2686 with our family of four. The room was spacious enough with plenty of storage, but I disliked the configuration with the closets right across from the bathroom. It is such a narrow hallway entrance and trying to navigate getting into the closets while someone is going in and out of the bathroom created a bit of a traffic jam in the mornings. The room location near the aft exit onto a small deck area that had stair leading up to the Promenade deck was very convenient to get outside and see the scenery. Our room steward wasn’t particularly friendly but did an adequate job of keeping our room clean. We had difficulties with the remote control for the TV from day one which we tried to discuss with him in the hopes of having it replaced, but to no avail. But overall with some minor oversights, he did a fine job and we really didn’t have any big complaints. The beds were very comfortable for everyone except my daughter. She slept on the bed that converted from the couch and it took a few days to figure out a way to make it work for her. Ultimately we ended up leaving the couch cushion underneath her mattress for extra support and adding a few layers of blankets to make it more comfortable. My son slept in the drop down bunk and was fine.

 

Dining/Food: This was where our experience ranged from the good, the bad to the ugly. We were very excited to try a new line with a new menu and dining experience. We chose Anytime Dining for our group of 6 and never had any problem getting a table in the dining room. The gentleman at the desk every evening was exceptional and always did his best to make sure we were seated at a table by the window. Overall the food in the dining room was very good, with a few exceptions. We enjoyed variety of foods offered and the presentation was always nice. The desserts were somewhat of a disappointment. The variety and quality was not what we are used to on Princess. My sister did really love having the Baked Alaska options every night and I liked the daily fruit crisps. Where the experience really paled was with our dining room services. With the exception of a few nights when the service was excellent, we found the dining room service poor. The staff was friendly but the service was painfully slow most nights. On average our dinners lasted over two hours, sometimes nearly two and a half hours. We tried to arrive early at the dining room most evenings when it opened at 5:15 p.m. or shortly after and despite that we were almost never able to make the Trivia at 7 p.m. A few evenings when we arrived near 6 p.m. we were racing to make the 8 p.m. show and opted to skip dessert a couple of times just to get to the entertainment. Our beverage service was also slow with our drinks not being delivered some evenings until we had already completed our appetizers and were waiting for our entrees. And the staff seems very confused by the beverage cards (we found them confusing as well!) I really prefer the unlimited beverage packages we have had on Carnival and Princess. All of this was compounded by the little mistakes such as forgetting an appetizer and then serving it after the entrée, neglecting to bring the sauce for the soufflés, getting one basket of bread and one small container of butter for 6 people and having to make multiple requests for a bit more, pepper mills being empty and never replaced even after it was requested. Compared to our other cruises the dining services just seemed a bit sloppy and uneven. I’m a pretty tolerant person, but after multiple evenings of sitting for twenty minutes between our appetizers and entrees even my patience was running thin.

 

And the few times we ate at the Lido we found the set up confusing, crowded and chaotic. We gave up on getting drink service in the buffet and just went and got our own drinks at the bar. My favorite thing was the grill and the turkey burgers which were terrific! The main thing that disappointed about the Lido was the strange hours. I have never been on a cruise where there were times it was hard to find food! We were stunned to find that the buffet closed at 8 p.m. and didn’t open again until the late snack at 11 p.m. There were many nights when we would have liked a snack before bed or nights we skipped dessert and wanted to run up to the buffet after the show and it was closed. Room service was an option at least, but even that was a mixed bag. We loved being able to have a hot breakfast from room service, but our order was only delivered correctly on a couple of days. Most days there were items missing and on a couple of occasions entire meals were missing and we had to send the server back to retrieve the rest of our order. I’m really not one to complain even though it probably sounds like it. Truly I am easy to please. But given our experience on other lines I was really so surprised how lacking the overall food service experience seemed. Let me reiterate though that the food overall was very, very good so when we finally got it that part was enjoyable! We also really enjoyed afternoon tea (especially the Indonesian Tea) and the ice cream station at the buffet.

 

Entertainment/Activities: We went to most of the production shows and overall they were pretty good. The dancers in particular were excellent. The guest entertainers we saw were all really enjoyable and the Queens Lounge was a nice venue and we always found good seats. The piano bar was one of our favorite spots to spend time in the evenings after the show and Piano Man Roy was excellent and so much fun. We did find the daily activities a bit lacking, at least where our interests are concerned. It was a bit sedate for our taste which seemed to be the overall feel of the cruise in general. I was glad this was a port intensive cruise because the sea days were a little dull. The weather kept us indoors on most sea days so I did take the opportunity to catch up on my reading and did manage to read 3 books. But I missed the variety of trivia, games and group activities we are used to on Princess.

 

Kids Club: We didn’t really have high expectations for the Kid’s program going in and that was a good thing as the program for my daughter was disappointing. The activities for preteens onboard were very limited. The focus seemed to be on the younger kids and teens. Fortunately my daughter made a friend her age and they had fun together. There was very little for my son who is 18 and too old for the teen club. He attended one of the Generation Next activities but it was all people in their mid-twenties. I would say that HAL could definitely stand to improve their offerings for tweens and college age kids.

 

Casino: My husband enjoys the Casino and even though we had been warned going in there was likely not a Craps table onboard, that was a disappointment for him. He did however really enjoy playing blackjack and was very, very impressed with the Casino staff onboard. In fact he felt they were the friendliest and most welcoming staff he has ever played with on any of our cruises. He made certain to write a very complementary note about all of them at the end of our cruise.

 

I will cover the ports in my next installment!

I am enjoying your review also, I think being a member of CC, it helps a lot to actually write a review, especially for those that are interested in how others view the itinerery, and the service, and the ship itself... thanks for reviewing, I know it is time intensive and sometimes hard to remember the cruise after being back home for a while, but I look forward to the rest of your review. Linda

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High C's

High C's

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I was appreciative that HAL afforded us Mariner’s status for our previous Carnival and Princess cruises.

 

Thanks for posting your review.

I'm curious about receiving Mariner status (I assume it is one star status) based on prior Carnival/Princess cruises. We are taking our first HAL cruise next week, but we are Elite on Princess. Would we qualify for the one star status also? :confused:

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karatemom2 "Live from...." Rare

karatemom2

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Thanks for posting your review.

 

I'm curious about receiving Mariner status (I assume it is one star status) based on prior Carnival/Princess cruises. We are taking our first HAL cruise next week' date=' but we are Elite on Princess. Would we qualify for the one star status also? :confused:[/size']

 

Based on our experience I would say yes. We were allowed to attend the Mariners Embarkation lunch and were also invited to the special Mariners Brunch as were my sister and brother-in-law. None of us had cruised HAL before but were given one star status based on our previous Princess cruises.

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karatemom2 "Live from...." Rare

karatemom2

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We booked this cruise primarily based on the fantastic itinerary which offered a chance to visit some new ports in Alaska. We have cruised to Alaska four times prior to this and I can only say that I never realized how truly blessed we have been with the nice weather on our previous cruises. This time we were reminded that Alaska can in fact be cold and wet! But despite the persistent rain and low temperatures we thoroughly enjoyed each and every port.

 

Ketchikan – Cool and Rainy most of the day. We walked from our ship to the Funicular at the bottom of Creek Street and took it up the hill to the Cape Fox Lodge for breakfast overlooking the misty forest and harbor. I highly recommend the Sourdough Pancakes and Reindeer Sausage. We took a walk down Married Man’s Trail and walked and shopped around Creek Street for a bit then headed back to the ship to meet our excursion. This was the only ship’s excursion we booked. It was the Rainforest Hike that takes you out to Herring Cove for a hike through the rainforest and out onto the boardwalk where you can sometimes spot bears (we didn’t this time) and eagles (lots of eagles). You go through an old sawmill and visit a small raptor center where they house an eagle and owl. (Loved the owl!) You also visit a reindeer farm and get to feed the reindeer which was fun and you finish viewing some totem poles and observing a master carver in action. All in all it was a nice excursion. We normally avoid ship excursions but this one appealed to us as it was not pricey and we love the Herring Cove area outside of Ketchikan. We ended the day with a little more shopping at the pier and then back onto the ship as it was raining a bit harder at this point. A wet day, but very nice.

 

Juneau- Very rainy and cold all day. On this visit to Juneau we decided to rent a car from National. They picked my husband up at the Red Onion Saloon across from our ship and within less than 2o minutes he was back with a very nice van for the six of us. We headed to Mendenhall Glacier first. This worked well as the rain was lighter early on and got increasingly more persistent through the day. We hiked the trail to Nugget Falls which we had never done before. What a gorgeous hike and the payoff of standing at the base of the falls at the end was so worth it! Our next stop was Chapel on the Lake for the views (a little cloudy, but still lovely) and the chapel was open and we had a chance to go in and speak to the pleasant hostess there. It is simply one of the most charming little churches I have ever seen, built of logs and with a huge window overlooking the lake, mountains and glacier. From there we headed on to the Shrine of St. Therese. It was raining hard at this point, but we are a game group so we walked through the rain out to the Shrine and Church. It is on a point where we heard whales are seen sometimes, but we didn’t see whales. Just salmon jumping and the pretty church and grounds. We didn’t linger as long as we might have due to the weather. We kept heading out of town to Eagle Beach State Park and at this blissful moment the rain stopped almost completely. We were treated to so many eagles all around and salmon in the lake. On a nicer day this would have been the perfect place for a picnic. We headed back into town for some lunch and a stop at the Alaska Brewery followed by a little shopping on the wet streets of downtown Juneau before returning the car and boarding the ship.

 

Icy Straight Point – No rain today and just a glimpse of sun! If ever we needed a port day to be pleasant it was this day as we had booked a combined fishing and whale watching excursion with Glacier Wind Charters. Teresa was there to greet us at the parking lot just beyond the dock and took us to the harbor where we met her husband Shawn, our captain, and we boarded their 35 foot down east style boat. It is a beautiful boat and very comfortable for the six of us. Shawn took us to our first stop to fish for halibut and within moments of putting our lines in the water we were all getting bites. The limit for halibut is one per person and the size limits are very specific over a certain size and under a certain size, so many of the halibut we were catching were immediately released. But it was such a thrill to be catching halibut in Alaska. We all caught multiple halibut as well as some cod and sculpin. My 98 pound daughter caught the fish of the day, a huge halibut easily weighing over 100 pounds (a little help from Dad!) and we took a photo before we released him as it was over the size limit for sport fishing. After catching our limit of fish we headed off to Point Adolphus where we watched whales, lots and lots of whales feeding, blowing, diving with their giant tales and backs above the water. It was great. I have been on whale watching trips before, but the number of whales we saw for an extended period of time far exceeded anything we have seen before. As we cruised back into the harbor we were treated to yet another whale who has been feeding within the small bay at Icy Strait Point. This trip with Glacier Wind ranks up there at the top as one of the very best excursions we have done in Alaska. I was sorry to see the day end and when we go back to Hoonah, we will be booking with them again. Shawn gave us a day we will never forget! Teresa met us and took us back to the dock where we explored the shops and museum and then tendered back to our ship in the warm sunshine.

 

Anchorage – Cool and some sun! We rented a van from Avis in Anchorage which is an easy walk from the Visitor’s Center where the shuttles drop off. Our first stop was the Alaska Native Heritage Center where we toured the villages, watched the cultural presentations and dancers and even saw sled dogs and puppies at a special exhibit. This is a place that deserves some time so we spent the entire morning there. After lunch we headed out on the Glenn Highway and stopped at Eklutna Historical Park to view the Russian Orthodox church and cemetery there. We then proceeded all the way to Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine Historical Park. This is a really beautiful drive up a winding mountain road. The old abandoned mining town is worth exploring and the setting is gorgeous. We were glad we made the effort to drive all the way and spend some time there. We drove back to Anchorage enjoying a view of the top of Mount McKinley on the way and we ended our day at Kincaid Park. It was about 6 pm and we had one goal in mind – to find the elusive moose! We hiked down the Tony Knowles trail toward the ocean for about 30 minutes when my husband spotted the huge bull moose grazing out in a wooded meadow off of the trail. We watched mesmerized for about 30 minutes as he meandered in the tall grass among the trees. It was sort of a dream come true for me to see a moose so it was the perfect way to end the day. We got back to the ship around 8 p.m., exhausted and hungry, but truly grateful for such a perfect day.

 

Homer - Cold, Rainy and Windy! We had really been looking forward to our visit to Homer and our planned excursion there – a boat ride across the bay to an island to view sea life and puffins. But unfortunately the weather was not on our side and due to the wind and rough seas a change of plans was in order. So we made lemonade out of lemons and spent a cold but fun day exploring the Homer Spit. First stop was the Salty Dawg Saloon for some Alaskan Amber ale. We left our signed dollar bills on the wall and had a fun time in this cute little dive! The shops along the Homer Spit are a refreshing change from the jewelry stores in Juneau and Ketchikan and we found some nice souvenirs. We had some good halibut and chips for lunch and then braved the wind, cold and rain for a walk on the beach. It was time to head back to the ship for some very welcome hot chocolate.

 

Kodiak – Rain, Rain and more Rain!! This was another port that we had been really excited for and the weather was in a word – miserable! But Dake and Kadie from Memory Maker Tours helped us make the most of our visit despite the weather. They were there to pick us up in their comfortable van at 8 a.m. on the dot and gave us a brief tour of town before heading out to Fort Abercrombie. On the way we stopped by the boatyard where the Time Bandit is currently dry docked and we got some great photos and saw the Harris boys working on the boat which was a thrill for any “Deadliest Catch” fan. At Fort Abercrombie we braved the wet weather to hike out and look at the WWII bunkers and the beautiful scenery. We got our most close up view of an eagle perched on a rock overlooking the cliffs and enjoyed the rainforest full of moss covered trees, flowers and berries. I would love to come back here on a nicer day as it is a really beautiful place with lots of opportunities for hiking. We stopped along the River to see some salmon and look for bears (no luck today) and then headed back to town. The men in our group opted to be dropped off at the ship, but we of the tougher sex braved the rain and walked a few blocks in town to visit the museums and do some shopping at a local craft market. The line for the shuttle back to the ship at the visitor’s center was long and we were wet and cold so we found a cab that took us back to our ship for just a few dollars. Once again it was straight to tea this time for some liquid warmth.

 

Sitka – Cool and Rainy. We had visited Sitka once before and it was just a beautiful as we remembered. Since we didn’t have a chance to see bears in the wild this trip, our first priority was to visit the Fortress of the Bear, habitat for orphaned Brown Bear cubs on the outskirts of Sitka. We headed out on the shuttle with a small group and had about an hour for viewing the bears from the viewing platforms. The five bears housed there were all out in all of their glory and it was a treat watching them. They are truly magnificent. Our driver returned to pick us up just as the tour buses were starting to arrive so we were glad we arrived before the crowds and had optimal viewing time with just our small group. He dropped us off in town and we visited St. Michael’s Cathedral and shopped at some of the Russian shops before heading to see the only performance that day of the New Archangel Dancers. We had seen the show before, but my sister and brother-in-law had not. It was well worth seeing again. After the show we had planned to get some reindeer hotdogs from the cart across the street but it was all closed up! So we decided to ignore our hunger and enjoy the rest of our day in town. We found a small drug store with an actual old fashioned soda fountain where we enjoyed some milkshakes and between that and some chocolates from a candy store we felt we could go on and make the hike up to the top of Castle Hill for the history and views. It was raining quite a bit, but we really didn’t care at this point. Sitka is a place where I would always choose to stay as long as possible and we were sad when we had to head back to the long tender line and return to the ship. We enjoyed watching otters as we sailed away though!

 

This was our last Alaska port and it was with a certain sense of sadness we headed off to Victoria. We had been looking forward to this trip for so long and certainly the weather was a challenge. But when I look back at all we did in spite of the weather and the wonderful experiences we had, I can’t say that the rain really dampened our trip that much at all.

 

And our glacier viewing days in both Tracy Arm Fjord and Hubbard Glacier, though cold and damp, were excellent. The captain got very close both days and the glaciers glowed in exquisite blue colors under overcast skies. And at Hubbard Glacier we experienced the most magnificent calving of any of our cruises. Even the photo and video crew who sees it every trip said they had never seen anything on the scale that we enjoyed the day we were there. So though many of our fellow cruisers expressed regrets about the weather for our cruise, I would have to disagree and say that even on the rainiest summer day Alaska it is still paradise.

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NoobCruise

NoobCruise

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Posted
Thanks for posting your review.

I'm curious about receiving Mariner status (I assume it is one star status) based on prior Carnival/Princess cruises. We are taking our first HAL cruise next week' date=' but we are Elite on Princess. Would we qualify for the one star status also? :confused:[/size']

 

Yes. Just contact HAL. You won't get credited any "days sailed" but they'll give you one star status.

 

DH and I have only taken 1 cruise ever. It was on Carnival. I let HAL know the ship we sailed on and date so they could look it up and verify. When I log in, it says 1 star mariner and our boarding passes say 1 star.

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Watson's aunt

Watson's aunt

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hi

 

Thank you for your report. I was on the June 29-July13 cruise. You seemed to have a lot more rain than I had. I hope you post photo's and the Hubbard glaciers video. We had rain every day except last sea day and the port Victoria. But Our rain was just annoying not heavy rain you had. But like you said Alaska is wonderful any time of the year

 

 

Mary

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carri cruiser

carri cruiser

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We booked this cruise primarily based on the fantastic itinerary which offered a chance to visit some new ports in Alaska. We have cruised to Alaska four times prior to this and I can only say that I never realized how truly blessed we have been with the nice weather on our previous cruises. This time we were reminded that Alaska can in fact be cold and wet! But despite the persistent rain and low temperatures we thoroughly enjoyed each and every port.

 

Ketchikan – Cool and Rainy most of the day. We walked from our ship to the Funicular at the bottom of Creek Street and took it up the hill to the Cape Fox Lodge for breakfast overlooking the misty forest and harbor. I highly recommend the Sourdough Pancakes and Reindeer Sausage. We took a walk down Married Man’s Trail and walked and shopped around Creek Street for a bit then headed back to the ship to meet our excursion. This was the only ship’s excursion we booked. It was the Rainforest Hike that takes you out to Herring Cove for a hike through the rainforest and out onto the boardwalk where you can sometimes spot bears (we didn’t this time) and eagles (lots of eagles). You go through an old sawmill and visit a small raptor center where they house an eagle and owl. (Loved the owl!) You also visit a reindeer farm and get to feed the reindeer which was fun and you finish viewing some totem poles and observing a master carver in action. All in all it was a nice excursion. We normally avoid ship excursions but this one appealed to us as it was not pricey and we love the Herring Cove area outside of Ketchikan. We ended the day with a little more shopping at the pier and then back onto the ship as it was raining a bit harder at this point. A wet day, but very nice.

 

Juneau- Very rainy and cold all day. On this visit to Juneau we decided to rent a car from National. They picked my husband up at the Red Onion Saloon across from our ship and within less than 2o minutes he was back with a very nice van for the six of us. We headed to Mendenhall Glacier first. This worked well as the rain was lighter early on and got increasingly more persistent through the day. We hiked the trail to Nugget Falls which we had never done before. What a gorgeous hike and the payoff of standing at the base of the falls at the end was so worth it! Our next stop was Chapel on the Lake for the views (a little cloudy, but still lovely) and the chapel was open and we had a chance to go in and speak to the pleasant hostess there. It is simply one of the most charming little churches I have ever seen, built of logs and with a huge window overlooking the lake, mountains and glacier. From there we headed on to the Shrine of St. Therese. It was raining hard at this point, but we are a game group so we walked through the rain out to the Shrine and Church. It is on a point where we heard whales are seen sometimes, but we didn’t see whales. Just salmon jumping and the pretty church and grounds. We didn’t linger as long as we might have due to the weather. We kept heading out of town to Eagle Beach State Park and at this blissful moment the rain stopped almost completely. We were treated to so many eagles all around and salmon in the lake. On a nicer day this would have been the perfect place for a picnic. We headed back into town for some lunch and a stop at the Alaska Brewery followed by a little shopping on the wet streets of downtown Juneau before returning the car and boarding the ship.

 

Icy Straight Point – No rain today and just a glimpse of sun! If ever we needed a port day to be pleasant it was this day as we had booked a combined fishing and whale watching excursion with Glacier Wind Charters. Teresa was there to greet us at the parking lot just beyond the dock and took us to the harbor where we met her husband Shawn, our captain, and we boarded their 35 foot down east style boat. It is a beautiful boat and very comfortable for the six of us. Shawn took us to our first stop to fish for halibut and within moments of putting our lines in the water we were all getting bites. The limit for halibut is one per person and the size limits are very specific over a certain size and under a certain size, so many of the halibut we were catching were immediately released. But it was such a thrill to be catching halibut in Alaska. We all caught multiple halibut as well as some cod and sculpin. My 98 pound daughter caught the fish of the day, a huge halibut easily weighing over 100 pounds (a little help from Dad!) and we took a photo before we released him as it was over the size limit for sport fishing. After catching our limit of fish we headed off to Point Adolphus where we watched whales, lots and lots of whales feeding, blowing, diving with their giant tales and backs above the water. It was great. I have been on whale watching trips before, but the number of whales we saw for an extended period of time far exceeded anything we have seen before. As we cruised back into the harbor we were treated to yet another whale who has been feeding within the small bay at Icy Strait Point. This trip with Glacier Wind ranks up there at the top as one of the very best excursions we have done in Alaska. I was sorry to see the day end and when we go back to Hoonah, we will be booking with them again. Shawn gave us a day we will never forget! Teresa met us and took us back to the dock where we explored the shops and museum and then tendered back to our ship in the warm sunshine.

 

Anchorage – Cool and some sun! We rented a van from Avis in Anchorage which is an easy walk from the Visitor’s Center where the shuttles drop off. Our first stop was the Alaska Native Heritage Center where we toured the villages, watched the cultural presentations and dancers and even saw sled dogs and puppies at a special exhibit. This is a place that deserves some time so we spent the entire morning there. After lunch we headed out on the Glenn Highway and stopped at Eklutna Historical Park to view the Russian Orthodox church and cemetery there. We then proceeded all the way to Hatcher Pass and the Independence Mine Historical Park. This is a really beautiful drive up a winding mountain road. The old abandoned mining town is worth exploring and the setting is gorgeous. We were glad we made the effort to drive all the way and spend some time there. We drove back to Anchorage enjoying a view of the top of Mount McKinley on the way and we ended our day at Kincaid Park. It was about 6 pm and we had one goal in mind – to find the elusive moose! We hiked down the Tony Knowles trail toward the ocean for about 30 minutes when my husband spotted the huge bull moose grazing out in a wooded meadow off of the trail. We watched mesmerized for about 30 minutes as he meandered in the tall grass among the trees. It was sort of a dream come true for me to see a moose so it was the perfect way to end the day. We got back to the ship around 8 p.m., exhausted and hungry, but truly grateful for such a perfect day.

 

Homer - Cold, Rainy and Windy! We had really been looking forward to our visit to Homer and our planned excursion there – a boat ride across the bay to an island to view sea life and puffins. But unfortunately the weather was not on our side and due to the wind and rough seas a change of plans was in order. So we made lemonade out of lemons and spent a cold but fun day exploring the Homer Spit. First stop was the Salty Dawg Saloon for some Alaskan Amber ale. We left our signed dollar bills on the wall and had a fun time in this cute little dive! The shops along the Homer Spit are a refreshing change from the jewelry stores in Juneau and Ketchikan and we found some nice souvenirs. We had some good halibut and chips for lunch and then braved the wind, cold and rain for a walk on the beach. It was time to head back to the ship for some very welcome hot chocolate.

 

Kodiak – Rain, Rain and more Rain!! This was another port that we had been really excited for and the weather was in a word – miserable! But Dake and Kadie from Memory Maker Tours helped us make the most of our visit despite the weather. They were there to pick us up in their comfortable van at 8 a.m. on the dot and gave us a brief tour of town before heading out to Fort Abercrombie. On the way we stopped by the boatyard where the Time Bandit is currently dry docked and we got some great photos and saw the Harris boys working on the boat which was a thrill for any “Deadliest Catch” fan. At Fort Abercrombie we braved the wet weather to hike out and look at the WWII bunkers and the beautiful scenery. We got our most close up view of an eagle perched on a rock overlooking the cliffs and enjoyed the rainforest full of moss covered trees, flowers and berries. I would love to come back here on a nicer day as it is a really beautiful place with lots of opportunities for hiking. We stopped along the River to see some salmon and look for bears (no luck today) and then headed back to town. The men in our group opted to be dropped off at the ship, but we of the tougher sex braved the rain and walked a few blocks in town to visit the museums and do some shopping at a local craft market. The line for the shuttle back to the ship at the visitor’s center was long and we were wet and cold so we found a cab that took us back to our ship for just a few dollars. Once again it was straight to tea this time for some liquid warmth.

 

Sitka – Cool and Rainy. We had visited Sitka once before and it was just a beautiful as we remembered. Since we didn’t have a chance to see bears in the wild this trip, our first priority was to visit the Fortress of the Bear, habitat for orphaned Brown Bear cubs on the outskirts of Sitka. We headed out on the shuttle with a small group and had about an hour for viewing the bears from the viewing platforms. The five bears housed there were all out in all of their glory and it was a treat watching them. They are truly magnificent. Our driver returned to pick us up just as the tour buses were starting to arrive so we were glad we arrived before the crowds and had optimal viewing time with just our small group. He dropped us off in town and we visited St. Michael’s Cathedral and shopped at some of the Russian shops before heading to see the only performance that day of the New Archangel Dancers. We had seen the show before, but my sister and brother-in-law had not. It was well worth seeing again. After the show we had planned to get some reindeer hotdogs from the cart across the street but it was all closed up! So we decided to ignore our hunger and enjoy the rest of our day in town. We found a small drug store with an actual old fashioned soda fountain where we enjoyed some milkshakes and between that and some chocolates from a candy store we felt we could go on and make the hike up to the top of Castle Hill for the history and views. It was raining quite a bit, but we really didn’t care at this point. Sitka is a place where I would always choose to stay as long as possible and we were sad when we had to head back to the long tender line and return to the ship. We enjoyed watching otters as we sailed away though!

 

This was our last Alaska port and it was with a certain sense of sadness we headed off to Victoria. We had been looking forward to this trip for so long and certainly the weather was a challenge. But when I look back at all we did in spite of the weather and the wonderful experiences we had, I can’t say that the rain really dampened our trip that much at all.

 

And our glacier viewing days in both Tracy Arm Fjord and Hubbard Glacier, though cold and damp, were excellent. The captain got very close both days and the glaciers glowed in exquisite blue colors under overcast skies. And at Hubbard Glacier we experienced the most magnificent calving of any of our cruises. Even the photo and video crew who sees it every trip said they had never seen anything on the scale that we enjoyed the day we were there. So though many of our fellow cruisers expressed regrets about the weather for our cruise, I would have to disagree and say that even on the rainiest summer day Alaska it is still paradise.

Wonderful review, thank you, I too, have been to Alaska when it was raining, but this year on our June 1st cruise , we had beautiful weather, one late afternoon in Juneau it rained, but that was all. You seem to have had a lovely cruise no matter what the weather.... good for you!! Linda

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karatemom2 "Live from...." Rare

karatemom2

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Welcome Home

 

Thank you for taking the time to write your review. Enjoyed reading it -- we also did your cruise -- last year and this year. Love the different ports.

 

The cutbacks in staff is really showing up everywhere.

 

Your comment regarding staff cutbacks makes sense. The staff was working hard and they were all so pleasant, but it seemed they were spread very thin. Especially in the dining areas it felt like they were understaffed most evenings. The nights we received our best service were a couple of the late port evenings when there were fewer people in the dining room. On those evenings with less tables to juggle the dining staff did a great job.

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LVSue

LVSue

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Thanks for such a detailed description of your port activities. Half of them we couldn't possibly do at this point, and certainly not in one day, but there are a bevy of suggestions for each port! I'm going to copy your report and put it in my Alaska folder to give us new ideas each time we go.

 

We got a suggestion from a friend about the Neet's Bay bear watch in Ketchican and went for it (despite small plane). We go there almost every year, so your ideas should keep us going for another few years.

 

I remember when I was that active, even 10 years ago when I only had 4 hours in Sitka and took the bus to race to the raptor center and the totem park, plus the Russian church. I go a little slower now.....

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karatemom2 "Live from...." Rare

karatemom2

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Thanks for such a detailed description of your port activities. Half of them we couldn't possibly do at this point, and certainly not in one day, but there are a bevy of suggestions for each port! I'm going to copy your report and put it in my Alaska folder to give us new ideas each time we go.

 

We got a suggestion from a friend about the Neet's Bay bear watch in Ketchican and went for it (despite small plane). We go there almost every year, so your ideas should keep us going for another few years.

 

I remember when I was that active, even 10 years ago when I only had 4 hours in Sitka and took the bus to race to the raptor center and the totem park, plus the Russian church. I go a little slower now.....

 

It is sort of a running joke amongst my family that I'm a bit relentless at times where port days are concerned! Especially with this particular itinerary I wanted to make sure we did as much as we could and I did a pretty thorough job of filling our days. Thankfully the port times for most of our stops were very generous. I won't say we weren't pretty exhausted by the time we rolled onto the ship at the end of some of the days, but we walked and hiked so much that I didn't gain a single pound so that was a plus!

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  • 1 year later...
NMLady

NMLady

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Thank you for your review, and especially the details on the good food... and the unfortunate service problems. :):):):)

 

Do you realize you resurrected a thread that is more than a year old?

I doubt the OP will see your thanks.

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